When we bought our travel trailer, we wanted to use biodegradable dish soap while camping. In the rush of buying everything we needed for the trailer, we added a generic bottle of biodegradable camp soap to our supplies.
Unfortunately, we quickly discovered that we were not happy with it. The soap had an extremely watery consistency, barely created any bubbles, and didn’t seem to cut through grease. Our dishes never really felt clean, so we eventually stopped using it and went back to Dawn.
But we still wanted a biodegradable dish soap that actually worked. So we decided to test six different options to see if we could find one that cleaned dishes and cut through grease as well as the dish soap we were already using.
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To make the comparison of our 6 biodegradable dish soaps as realistic as possible, we put the soaps to the test on plates covered in grease from a breakfast of cheesy eggs and bacon.
Here’s what we found.
ECOS Dish Soap
ECOS was the first biodegradable dish soap we tested, and it immediately made a good impression.
It created a good amount of bubbles that were comparable to what we get with Dawn. More importantly, it cut through the grease quickly and left the plate feeling clean.
The consistency was also what we expected from a dish soap. It was thick rather than watery, and the lemon-scented version we tested smelled nice.
Overall, ECOS checked all of the boxes we were looking for: good bubbles, good grease-cutting ability, a pleasant consistency, and a nice scent.
Price: $5.47 for 25 ounces, or about $0.22 per ounce.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Dish Soap
Mrs. Meyer’s was another strong contender in our test.
It created plenty of suds and was comparable to both ECOS and Dawn in terms of bubbles. It also cleaned the grease off the plates quickly without any problems.
The biggest downside for us was the bottle. The top was difficult to open, which made it less convenient to use than ECOS.
As far as the actual soap goes, though, we were happy with it. The consistency, bubbles, and cleaning ability all met our expectations.
Price: $4.79 for 16 ounces, or about $0.30 per ounce.
Method Dish Soap
Method dish soap also performed well in our test.
It created a good amount of bubbles, although not quite as many as ECOS or Mrs. Meyer’s. It also seemed to require a little more scrubbing to get the grease off the plates.
That said, the end result was still good. The dishes felt clean, and there wasn’t anything about the soap’s cleaning performance that we considered a major problem.
One thing we liked about the Method bottle was the pump, which was convenient while washing dishes. However, we didn’t think the pump was ideal for travel. It was difficult to close back up securely, so we ended up using this soap in the house rather than keeping it as our primary trailer dish soap.
Price: $3.49 for 18 ounces, or about $0.19 per ounce.
Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Magic Soap
I was particularly excited to try Dr. Bronner’s because it has so many positive reviews and is designed to be a versatile, multipurpose soap.
The one thing that surprised me was that it didn’t create any suds at all.
Even after adding more soap to warm water, we didn’t get the bubbles we were expecting. Instead, the water simply became milky white.
Despite the lack of suds, however, the soap actually worked well. It removed the grease and left the dishes feeling clean.
So while it didn’t meet our expectations for what dish soap should look like, its cleaning performance was good.
And its versatility makes it especially useful in a travel trailer. We keep it in our trailer as a multipurpose soap and have used it for things other than dishes, including shampoo.
Price: $9.99 for 8 ounces, or about $1.25 per ounce.
Puracy Dish Soap
Puracy was another soap that performed well overall.
It created good bubbles, although there weren’t quite as many as we got from ECOS or Mrs. Meyer’s. It also cleaned the grease off the plates without any problems.
The biggest issue for us was the scent. We tested the Green Tea & Lime scent, and it just wasn’t our favorite.
But when it comes to actually cleaning dishes, Puracy worked just fine and would be a perfectly reasonable option for camping.
Price: $9.99 for 16 ounces, or about $0.62 per ounce.
Seventh Generation Foaming Dish Spray
The Seventh Generation Foaming Dish Spray was the most different option we tested.
Instead of being a traditional dish soap that you mix into a sink or bucket of water, it’s a foaming spray. That makes it particularly interesting for camping because you don’t always need to wash a large batch of dishes.
If you only have one or two dishes to clean, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to fill a whole container with soapy water. The spray gives you another option.
It worked well in our test. It removed the grease and left the dishes clean without any issues.
We also liked that it could help conserve water. You only need a small amount of water to rinse the dish after cleaning it with the spray.
Price: $6.39 for 16 ounces, or about $0.40 per ounce.
Which Biodegradable Dish Soap Did We Choose?
After testing all six soaps, we decided that ECOS made the most sense as our primary dish soap for the travel trailer.
We liked the bubbles, how well it cleaned, and the scent. It was the option that best met our criteria for a biodegradable alternative to the Dawn dish soap we had been using.
But we didn’t stop there.
We also decided to keep Dr. Bronner’s and Seventh Generation Foaming Dish Spray in the trailer because they serve different purposes.
Dr. Bronner’s is useful because it’s a multipurpose soap that can be used for more than just dishes. Seventh Generation’s foaming spray is convenient when we only have a couple of dishes to wash and want to conserve water.
Our Takeaway
The biggest lesson from our test is that you don’t have to settle for a generic biodegradable camp soap that doesn’t clean well.
While our original biodegradable camp soap was watery, didn’t create suds, and struggled with grease, all six of the other soaps we tested worked well and would be good options for camping.
If you’re looking for a biodegradable dish soap for your travel trailer, ECOS was our favorite overall, but the other options each had their own advantages.
The best biodegradable dish soap for you may ultimately depend on how you wash dishes while camping, how much water you’re trying to conserve, and whether you want your soap to serve purposes beyond washing dishes.
